Merlot
Das australische Känguruh zwischen Chile und Württemberg
Das Känguruh irgendwo zwischen Chile und Württemberg: so gesehen bei dem Besuch in einem großen bayerischen Gartencenter!
australian wine marketing in German supermarkets
Die Vermarktung australischer Tropfen erfährt manchmal schon komische Züge hier in Deutschland, denn sowohl die Positionierung zwischen dem Merlot aus Chile und einem Trollinger aus Württemberg, als auch der Anlass: ‘Fang das Känguruh’ mit Hilfe einer Wurfscheibe, lässt mich schmunzeln.
Yellow Tail ist nun nicht gerade meine favorisierte Marke, verkaufen tut sie sich allerdings recht gut, so der Marktleiter auf Anfrage.
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Is this a joke, or does marketing of Australian wines in Germany need to rely on the constant reminder of kangaroos and games around them? I found this treasure of wine marketing in a local garden center in Bavaria in Germany. The bottle of Shiraz safely stored between a Merlot from Chile and a Trollinger from Germany’s own wine region Württemberg.
Michael Brecht
Drei Australische Weine bei 52weine.de
Unsere Leidenschaft für australische Weine zieht so langsam ihre Kreise.
The views on the Mornington Peninsula
Ab Donnerstag den 13. Januar präsentiert der shooting star unter den deutschen Online-Weinanbietern 52weine ein Probierpaket mit drei australischen Spitzenweinen.
Erstmalig haben die Kunden der 52weine die Chance, drei großartige Weine aus Down Under in einem Probierkarton zu erwerben.
Die Weine stammen aus drei sehr unterschiedlichen Gegenden, der Mornington Peninsula mit ihrem kühleren Meeresklima vor den Toren Melbournes, dem Hunter Valley in NSW bis hin zum heißen McLaren Vale in Südaustralien – die ganze Kraft australischer Rebsorten – von Shiraz über Cabernet Merlot bis hin zum feinen Pinot Noir.
Wie heißt es so schön: “ab sofort gibt es dieses Probierpaket aus Australien für wenige Tage exklusiv bei 52weine. Oder sichern Sie sich jeweils in 6er Kartons ihren speziellen Lieblingsaustralier – solange der Vorrat reicht.”
Hier der Link zur Anmeldeseite beim 52weine Weinclub.
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The German shooting star in online wine retailing starts this week with the promotion of three Australian Beauties: Red Hill Estate Pinot Noir from Mornington Peninsula, Arrowfield Estate Shiraz from the Hunter and DogRidges Cabernet Merlot from McLaren Vale in South Australia.
Three very different wines, three very different wine regions and still: three excellent ways to promote the richness and power of Australian wine in Europe.
The offer comes in a pack of 6 bottles with 2 bottles of each wine or in straight cartons of 6 bottles of each wine. Brilliant idea and a great way to show the German and Austrian wine community the depths and quality of wines coming from Down Under.
Good on them!
A leg of lamb and a Reserve Merlot – it is winter in the Southern Hemisphere
I simply cannot help myself but when I think of Merlot, I think about the movie in which … – no let us not go there. So, when I started writing about my latest Merlot experience this morning, I thought it might make sense to ask online service Wikipedia how they defined Merlot to get a sort of neutral look at the variety: “Merlot is a red wine grape that is used as both a blending grape and for varietal wines.”
Reserve Merlot Cuttaway Hill
Autsch, that doesn’t help either, a blending grape, but honestly: there are many fine Merlot producers in the Bordeaux region in France and in Australia alone, there were more than 125,000 tonnes of this variety produced in 2008.
Time to have a closer look at an Australian Merlot, not blended but standing on its own, especially with a nice roast of lamb for dinner already in the oven:
My choice: the 2006 Reserve Merlot from Cuttaway Hill, of the largest vineyard properties in the Southern Highlands. The wine is bright purple in colour, its bouquet full of dark ripe fruit and chocolate. I give it an hour after opening it as the bottle was stored in a rather cold cellar, mainly due to the frosty nights of this week.
When I take the first sips, I am amazed: this Reserve Merlot develops rich fruit characters on the palate and shows a very nice length. On the bottle they recommend celaring to 2013, knowing the many Merlot fans in the Southern Highlands I suspect most of their bottles gone by then.
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Der australische Winter zehrt mit heftigen Winden an uns, die wir gerade erst aus dem warmen Europa zurueck gekehrt sind. Abends ist es Zeit fuer einen Reserve Merlot von Cuttaway Hill, ich selbst bin kein ueberzeugter Merlot Fan, doch dieser Reserve mundet mir vorzueglich. Ein besonders fruchtiger Charakter und eine schoene Laenge machen diesen Wein zu einem perfekten Tropfen fuer das Lamm, welches heute auf unserem Tisch steht.
Ihr Michael Brecht
Wine advertisement on the radio – get Australian bargain hunters to your cellar door
Yesterday afternoon, I experienced an amazing phenomenon as I visited one of the wineries in the Southern Highlands. I spent two hours at their cellar door and although Fridays are usually busier than most other weekdays, this one was special: every five minutes a new car arrived at the car park with new people rushing through the door asking whether the radio advertisement was true and some of the announced wines still available.
Radio ads lead us to the latest bargain at a cellar door
So this is what they mean when they talk on the radio about how ‘radio advertisement works’ – I suspect everyone in Australia has heard the advertisement of Commercial Radio Australia for its own capability to make ads work (their latest slogan being: radio advertisement – economically sound).
I experienced the simple truth of this fact when 80% of the mostly new visitors to this winery claimed, they had heard the spot on the radio. Which spot I asked, as I currently listen to a Mozart CD in my car and therefore avoid commercial radio’s inundating commercial breaks this way. I realised that my selfish behaviour might have made me miss out on the hottest news in the Highlands this week and only pure luck brought me to the place where all the action was taking place!
The cellar door manager informed me that they announced the sale of Cabernet Sauvignon/Merlots at $3.00 per bottle – vintages being their 2003 and 2004 ones. Here we are – the old Australian habit to love a bargain was happening right in front of my eyes. Highlights of these two hours were a Mercedes S-class from the Northern beaches in Sydney and various BMW four wheel drivers – all these guys hunting for the cases with $3.00 wines. Well, you can’t buy an S-class when you spend all your money on Penfolds Grange bottles, do you?
On the other hand, one customer told me: this is cheaper than buying your daily red at larger bottle shops such as Dan Murphy’s – and the wine is definitely better – this is for sure.
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Australier lieben ein Schnaeppchen, so geschehen gestern nachmittag, als ich viele Schnaeppchenjaeger in eine Cellar Door hereinstuermen sah – und das an einer Cellar Door, die viele Kilometer ausserhalb der Kleinstaedte hier in den Southern Highlands liegt. Ein Cabernet Sauvignon/Merlot ist dort fuer $3.00 die Flasche zu haben – im Dutzend – und die Jaeger stroemten nur so hinein. Grosser Unterschied zu den $3.00 Australiern in deutschen Supermaerkten ist, dass dieser Tropfen hier richtig gut schmeckt, kein grand cru classe – aber immerhin.
Ihr Michael Brecht
